Alphatauri

Securing his best result of the season in Baku only to finish a lowly P14 at the next race in Canada, Pierre Gasly says slow corners are a “friend” to his AT03, “fast corners are our enemy”. Putting all-new cars on this year’s grid, Formula 1 moving onto ground effect aerodynamics, Gasly and the rest of the sport’s midfield had hoped that it would close the gap to F1’s front runners. It has not, instead seemingly widening it with the Frenchman recently saying “the top three is a different world” as while last year he could occasionally mix it up with Ferraris, Red Bulls and even Mercedes in qualifying, “this year, there is no way”. One of the big problem facing AlphaTauri is the nature of this year’s AT03, it doesn’t like fast corners. “Slow corners are our friend, fast corners are our enemy,” Gasly told Auto Motor und Sport . That meant that while he claimed a season’s best P5 at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, he wasn’t in the mix at all in Montreal, finishing the … [Read more...] about Gasly names AlphaTauri’s ‘friend, and our enemy’

Pierre Gasly’s long association with Red Bull’s junior Formula 1 team, which began five years ago, will continue for at least one more season. Advert | Become a Supporter & go ad-free AlphaTauri has confirmed Gasly will drive for them next year. The official announcement comes after Gasly told RaceFans in April he will remain at his current team in 2023 and his team principal Franz Tost said the same at last weekend’s Canadian Grand Prix. Gasly’s hopes of a return to Red Bull Racing, where he spent an unsuccessful half-season in 2019, were dashed when the team announced a new two-year contract for Sergio Perez earlier this season. He said he is “happy to remain with my Scuderia AlphaTauri team” for next year. “This year’s new regulations have created new challenges for us and being able to plan our development with the team for the next 18 months is a good working basis for the future.” Tost said Gasly is “definitely in the group of the best and most … [Read more...] about F1: Another season at AlphaTauri for Gasly officially confirmed · RaceFans

Listen to this article Last week in Canada, team principal Franz Tost made abundantly clear that Gasly was going nowhere, saying he was “100% confirmed” at the team for 2023. When he was asked to expand on how talks with Gasly had gone in a 90-word question, Tost took just 10 to deadpan back: “He has a valid contract. There’s nothing more to say.” The hubbub that followed seemed surprising. It wasn’t new information that Gasly was under contract for 2023. Back in March, he told Motorsport.com in an interview that it was “not confidential anymore that I have one more year after this year on my contract.” Yet Tost’s comments last week and today’s announcement from AlphaTauri have nevertheless been seen as big steps forward in the driver market narrative heading towards 2023. While Gasly was under contract for next year, it is important to note that the deals have always been with Red Bull, not specifically AlphaTauri. This has given Red Bull the freedom to place him in … [Read more...] about Why AlphaTauri confirmed a driver already “100% confirmed” for F1 2023

Listen to this article Although Gasly was under contract with AlphaTauri until the end of next year, news of Sergio Perez ’s two-year deal at Red Bull led to questions about Gasly’s future, given his aspirations to return to the senior squad in the future. But AlphaTauri team principal Franz Tost stressed in Canada last weekend that Gasly was “100% confirmed” to be staying in Faenza for next year, saying: “He has a valid contract.” The team has now moved to officially announce that Gasly will be staying put for the 2023 season. “The 26-year-old Frenchman has been with us since 2017 and this continuity will be a great asset, as he enjoys an excellent working relationship with his group of engineers and everyone in the team,” AlphaTauri said in a statement. “Pierre is a proven race winner, with three podiums and three fastest race laps and to date, he has scored a total of 325 points in Formula 1. He has also developed a reputation as a very strong qualifier.” … [Read more...] about Gasly formally confirmed at AlphaTauri F1 for 2023 season

Pierre Gasly’s AlphaTauri renewal is no long-term deal, as the French driver made very clear about his contract extension. “I have been with this team for five years now and I am proud of the journey we’ve been through together and the progress we have made,” said Pierre Gasly, as his position as an AlphaTauri driver for 2023 was confirmed on Friday . “I’m happy to remain with my Scuderia AlphaTauri team. This year’s new regulations have created new challenges for us and being able to plan our development with the team for the next 18 months is a good working basis for the future.” Gasly’s words are striking, in that there are no vague allusions to the future or any pretence that he has any further interest in a long-term project at his current team. Instead, he appears to have put a very firm timeline on the length of time he expects to remain with the Red Bull outfit – perhaps an unsurprising stance to take as the French driver continues to tread water in the midfield. … [Read more...] about Does Gasly’s renewal hint towards a McLaren future?

AlphaTauri boss Franz Tost doesn’t feel a lot of sympathy for the drivers complaining about the harsh ride of the 2022 F1 cars. The F1 cars of 2022, under the new regulations, have become considerably stiffer than the cars built to last year’s regulations, thanks to the bigger wheels and revised suspension setups. Alongside this, the move to ground effect aerodynamics has also introduced the phenomenon of porpoising – with some teams struggling more than others with the issue. Due to the stiff nature of the cars, the drivers are taking more of a battering than before as they hit kerbs and bumps, with low-slung cars also hitting the ground at high speeds. Added to this is the extra pain of porpoising, with the long, bumpy straights of Baku recently exacerbating the issue for some of the cars. After the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, many drivers came forward to complain about the issue of porpoising. Both Mercedes drivers have been particularly vocal about it , with Lewis Hamilton in … [Read more...] about Tost tells drivers: These are F1 cars, not a Rolls Royce

Pierre Gasly has said he is “better than the Pierre of three years ago” following his demotion from Red Bull. The Frenchman made the step-up to the main team for the 2019 campaign following two seasons at Toro Rosso but lasted just 12 races before returning to the junior team. At the time, the demotion knocked his confidence but since then he has gone on to establish himself as the senior member of AlphaTauri and one of the more talented drivers on the grid. There was even speculation he may be ready for a move to another team such as McLaren but he committed his future to his current side for 2023. Gasly was asked on the Motor Sport podcast , if his demotion was a turning point in his career and if it changed him. “Oh, big time,” he replied. “You always learn way more from failures and challenges than any other things or even from success because you always need to question what went wrong, what could have been better? How could you have done things better? How could … [Read more...] about Gasly reveals how Red Bull demotion changed him

Lando Norris said he can see the arguments on both sides of the porpoising debate in Formula 1, and it has left him conflicted about his own opinion on it. The FIA introduced a new technical directive in Canada with the aim of reducing the impact of vertical oscillations from the cars at high speed – be it through porpoising or the cars bouncing, as a result of the ground effect aerodynamics introduced on the cars this season. Norris says that McLaren have managed to mostly get on top of the issue, while others like Mercedes and AlphaTauri have been particularly affected – with Pierre Gasly saying he doesn’t want to see drivers have to walk with a cane by the age of 30 , such is the impact of the phenomenon on their bodies. This directive introduces a cap on the amount of times a car can bounce over the course of a lap, with Mercedes previously saying that the impact on their drivers reached up to 10G in Baku – twice the peak g-forces they experience on their necks in … [Read more...] about Norris ‘left conflicted’ by ongoing porpoising row

It’s not uncommon for a Formula 1 driver’s future to be completely out of their hands. It’s generally the case for drivers who aren’t Lewis Hamilton or Max Verstappen. Advert | Become a Supporter & go ad-free Yet, many do get backed by teams before they reach F1, which brings the expectation they will progress through the rankings to become a senior member of the outfit, if an opportunity arises. For a driver like Pierre Gasly , that step up came arguably too soon at Red Bull in 2019. He now seems stuck at a crossroads after the team announced Sergio Perez had re-signed to remain alongside Verstappen at the senior team until the end of 2024. Red Bull’s decision is a rational one. Perez is a driver who has consistently delivered at races to gain important points in their championship fight and has accepted the occasions where he’s had to serve as ‘number two’ to Verstappen with grace. Last season Franz Tost, team principal of Red Bull’s junior F1 squad … [Read more...] about Perez’s new Red Bull deal poses questions for Gasly and his junior team successors · RaceFans